


A Bird in Love

by mew_tsubaki



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Kindaichi is a good friend, Kunimi is a Little Shit, M/M, Tendou's appearance is more of a cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 11:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7046758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/mew_tsubaki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kunimi finds himself the overt object of a certain bird's desires. *very light T, for Kunimi's internal potty mouth*</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bird in Love

**Author's Note:**

> The Haikyuu! characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. This pairing is very much the fault of my pal, fukunagapls, on tumblr, and I've already drawn 2 Ushikuni pics, so time for a fic. XD Read, review, and enjoy!

Bald eagles supposedly mate for life, they say. They never said anything about eagles being stalkers, however.

That was the thought that struck Kunimi on his fourth bus ride home during which he had spotted, yet again, _that guy_. Gods, he couldn't even speak his name in his thoughts. Probably due to Oikawa's influence, Kunimi guessed, since he'd been around Oikawa for far too long, and Oikawa despised _that guy_. Still… Kunimi couldn't help letting his eyes sidle on over in _that guy's_ direction.

He was standing in the middle of the outer city bus, holding on to the pole while staring at his phone. He was wearing a summer track suit in his school colors (which Kunimi only knew because how could he _not_ know this guy's school, considering this guy's reputation?) and looking rather perturbed at his phone's display. Then the phone rang, startling him—a momentary reaction Kunimi caught via the slight widening of his eyes—and he answered it. "Yes, Reon."

Couldn't he be quieter? This was the bus, for crying out loud.

He nodded, even though there was no one around to see the nod. "Yes. I didn't realize how far I'd gone. When I stopped, I broke hard on my right foot, so I'm taking the bus back to the dorms." A pause. A glance at the electronic message board inside the bus. "I'd guess ten minutes." An odd beat. Then he ended the call.

Kunimi gently snickered to himself. It sounded as though he'd done something stupid. Huh. Oikawa probably would love to hear about it. Then again…mentioning that Kunimi had been on the same bus as _that guy_ would sign him up for one day in hell as he and the rest of the Seijou team would have to listen to Oikawa gripe for what would last likely into the whole week. Especially if it came out that this was the fourth time he'd been on the same bus as _that guy_.

Said guy finally pocketed his phone and took a look at his surroundings and, though Kunimi did his best to sink his own tall frame into the cobalt blue pleather seat, he spotted Kunimi. His eyes narrowed—ah, recognition. Then he nodded politely.

Shit. _Urgh_. Kunimi frowned and pretended that he hadn't noticed him at all, even though he clearly would've since he'd been sitting on the opposite side of the bus and had a good view of that door by which the other teen stood. He feigned sudden interest in turning up the volume on his phone as he listened to his music, but rock couldn't drown out his memory at bumping into this guy—literally—last week.

Really, it'd barely been a week ago. Kunimi had been minding his own business, going home after leaving practice early to make it to both the grocery store for his mother and his favorite candy store for himself, when some idiot had clipped him as he'd made the right to head up the hill. Neither of them had been knocked down, but Kunimi had dropped the food bags and spat out a disgruntled "Watch where you're going" before picking his things up to be on his way. But the gentle apology from the other party had made him look up and lock eyes with none other than… _sigh_ …Ushijima Wakatoshi.

Kunimi knew he'd scowled automatically on reflex, and even now he didn't really mean to have done that. But. Ushijima. _Ushiwaka_. Kitagawa's pain in the ass rival. Now Seijou's pain in the ass rival. Iwaizumi had already told them that he'd bet hard money on yet another Aoba Johsai–Shiratorizawa match-up at the Interhigh next month, and the idea of facing this wing spiker again as they had in middle school was enough to deepen the frown on Kunimi's face to a grimace.

When Kunimi hadn't responded, Ushijima—perhaps not even having noticed the other boy's school uniform—had apologized again, and maybe he sounded sincere that time. So Kunimi had shrugged it off and hoped that was the end of that. But then. The next day came. And Kunimi was taking the bus home.

And Ushijima happened to be on it.

Now that Kunimi thought about it, today's event was probably a repeat of their first bus encounter, because Ushijima had been in his summer track suit then, too. How far did this guy run, anyway? Regardless, he'd thought the first bus encounter had been a fluke, and that Ushijima hadn't even noticed him.

But then Kunimi had seen the guy twice more earlier this week—one time in his track suit, another time in his school uniform joined by some guy with crazy scarlet hair—and still Kunimi had tried to make sure Ushijima hadn't spotted him. But today had been a failure, and now Kunimi wondered if the other times had been failures, too, and if Ushijima had spied him the first time around.

As long as Ushijima didn't come talk to him, Kunimi could deal with this. How he hadn't noticed being bus mates with Shiratorizawa's ace before now, he had no clue, but he could get used to this and enjoy the hilarity of Ushijima-watching so long as his subject never interacted with him again.

The bus stopped then, and more people got on, including a young mother with a tiny baby and an oversized stroller. And she boarded from Kunimi's side, staying in front of that door.

Kunimi blinked, realizing his predicament. Oh, shit.

The next stop came and went, and then it would be Kunimi's stop. He glanced at Ushijima's back, cursing countless gods for Ushijima still being on the bus, but then his time arrived…along with his stop.

As the bus slowed down, Kunimi grabbed the nearby pole with more force than necessary, white-knuckling it as he prepared to make a run for it. Luckily, several others were getting off here, too, so Kunimi could be caught by the wave and wash out onto the street. Even luckier, a middle-aged man between Kunimi's and Ushijima's heights stepped out, as well, blocking Kunimi from view. Kunimi, relieved, sighed internally at having pulled off the ruse, and he thought about checking the bus schedules when he got home. He definitely needed a new route home.

And yet…there was a second set of footsteps behind him as he headed in the direction of his neighborhood. Hell's bells.

Kunimi resisted the impulse to glance over his shoulder—Kindaichi would do that, not him—but he at least took his earbuds out and pocketed them. If the person behind him wasn't Ushijima, then Kunimi needed to be more aware. "You're so cute, you bring out all the stalkers, Kunimi~" Matsukawa had teased him before. Really? A high school freshman who was almost six feet tall, _cute_? Though, Kunimi supposed, perverts came in all shapes and sizes, _interested_ in all shapes and sizes. So he'd give the person behind him another block before he threatened to call the cops.

Only half the block had passed, though, when Kunimi's companion finally spoke up. "Did you break anything, last time?" he asked. So it _was_ Ushijima.

"…what?" Kunimi said, turning around with an incredulous look on his face and coming to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. The streetlight flickered on behind him.

"When I first met you, you were carrying grocery bags. It's my fault you dropped them." Ushijima's expression was inscrutable. "Did anything break? Eggs, for example."

Kunimi gaped a bit at the taller boy. "No. Nothing did," he answered. Forget Ushijima being scary or a pain in the ass—the guy was flat-out _weird_ , Kunimi decided.

Something on Ushijima's face twitched, and Kunimi realized it was Ushijima's version of a smile, the way the flat line of his lips was disturbed by one end angling upward sharply. It was a tiny change, but it was a smile nevertheless. But what did he have to smile about? "Again, sorry about running into you. Reon's told me that I take my corners a little tight sometimes."

"Uh, yeah… No problem," Kunimi remarked, though he had no clue why. In truth, "whatever" had been on the tip of his tongue. He rolled his eyes then and made to turn around. "Well, I'm going home now." No "see ya" or "bye." No threat to defeat him at the Interhigh. Kunimi just wanted to get away.

"I'm Ushijima Wakatoshi," Ushijima said, taking a step forward.

Kunimi stepped backwards while Ushijima looked at him expectantly. When Ushijima continued to wait, Kunimi grumbled, "…Kunimi."

Ushijima waited some more.

"Kunimi Akira."

Ushijima nodded. "Have a good evening," he said, and then he parted ways with Kunimi, crossing the street and taking a side street back down the hill.

Kunimi stared as Ushijima faded out of sight. It took him several seconds and his phone buzzing in his hand with a text to remind him that he was still on his way home. He glanced at the sender—gods, Oikawa—and finished trekking home, although now he was certain he was developing an ulcer….

* * *

The following day, Kunimi tried sitting in a seat in the back of the bus. He ached after a grueling practice and wanted simply to die or at least pass out in the three-seater in the back. Instead, he settled for stretching his legs out.

Today's driver was different, and so the bus moved at a slower speed than Kunimi was used to, but he didn't care much. Changing his seat, having a different driver, getting home later—maybe he'd luck out and not see Ushijima toda—

"Kunimi."

Of fucking course. Kunimi shifted the arm covering his eyes just enough so that he could confirm visually it was the new bane of his existence. Did he _have_ to look so excited to see Kunimi? It wasn't as though they were friends, and surely Ushijima recognized the color of Kunimi's sweats. Kunimi finally grunted in response before covering his eyes again. "There are plenty of other open seats, y'know."

"I know," Ushijima said, continuing to stand as the bus started moving again. He grabbed hold of the pole near Kunimi's head.

When Ushijima remained standing, Kunimi internally cursed and scrunched up his legs, freeing up the last of the three seats. "Just sit down already," he griped.

Ushijima grabbed the spot without a qualm, but he still stared at Kunimi. "Tired?"

"Y'think?"

"You can stretch out on me—I don't mind."

Weirdo. But, hey, if he was offering… Kunimi unceremoniously unfurled his legs once more, crossing them at the ankles atop Ushijima's lap. Ushijima even moved his bag to his other shoulder so as not to disturb his companion.

A minute passed in silence before Ushijima spoke again. "So you're sore?"

"Obviously."

"Spiking practice, right?"

Kunimi moved his arm to peek at Ushijima with one dark brown eye. "…yes. How do you know?" No way would Ushijima have remembered him from middle school. And all Kunimi had given him previously was his name.

"I told Tendou about you, and he said your name was vaguely familiar. So he looked you up. You play volleyball for Aoba Johsai now."

So the cat was out of the bag. "Yup. You can stop being nice to your rival now. I know you don't get along with Oikawa-san, so by extension you shouldn't get along with me."

Ushijima cocked his head to one side, for all intents and purposes putting Kunimi in mind of a clueless, domestic dog. "I don't dislike Oikawa, though?"

"Are you supposed to be asking me?"

Ushijima didn't get it. He rested his arms on Kunimi's legs and leaned gently on them. "And you brought him up, not me. For what it's worth, I don't dislike you, either."

Kunimi internally groaned and rolled his eyes, though the effect on Ushijima was lost since Kunimi had covered his face once more. "Yeah, I get that. What I don't get is _why_ you 'don't dislike' me."

"Oh. You're cute."

Quick as lightning, Kunimi sat up and jerked his legs back, pulling them free from Ushijima's lap. " _Come again_?!"

Ushijima held his hands up as if caught red-handed. "I said, 'You're cute.'"

Much as he hated it, Kunimi could feel his face growing warm with intense heat. A thudding sound caught his ears, as well, but it took him a second to realize it was not something outside the bus but his heart pounding in his chest. So stupid! To be told he was _cute_?! And by a _guy_?! And _Ushijima_ , of all people?! Not mention Ushijima barely knew him! Kunimi swung his legs around and planted his feet on the floor, reaching for the stop button. "I'm getting off."

"But this isn't your stop?"

"I can walk the rest of the way!" Kunimi snapped, and his conscience scolded him for a moment when he saw the sincerity on Ushijima's face. But then he remembered that this was Ushijima Wakatoshi, and a stranger, and he had his resolve to stomp off the bus as soon as the bus pulled over.

Once on the pavement, Kunimi chanced a glance at the window, but Ushijima couldn't be seen. He breathed a sigh of relief then and took out his phone to dial Kindaichi. The line rang as he started walking, but Kunimi hung up before Kindaichi could answer. Kunimi was overreacting, probably…right?

* * *

"Ah, I saw you called the other day—was it important?" Kindaichi asked Kunimi on Monday. They were at the shoe lockers before class, and Kindaichi had waited for him since he'd not picked Kunimi up that morning.

"…no, not really," Kunimi eventually replied. He chose his words carefully; he'd known Kindaichi long enough that Kindaichi could read him quite well, and he didn't want to raise Kindaichi's suspicions. Besides, surely Kunimi could handle Ushijima.

"You sure?" Kindaichi pushed, closing Kunimi's locker for him as they turned to go to class. "Usually I expect a text from you. You rarely call."

Oh. Crap. Kunimi hadn't thought about that. "Oh, that… I…was starting to text you, but my phone slipped in my grip. I accidentally dialed," he fibbed.

The taller boy raised one eyebrow but didn't question his friend any further as they climbed the stairs. "If you say so, then. Ah, hey, do you want to go home together today? You've been running out on me recently aside from that one skipped practice last week."

"…if you treat me to salted caramel…"

Kindaichi laughed until they reached his classroom. "Then maybe tomorrow. I don't have enough money on me to feed you today," he added with a teasing grin.

Kunimi pouted at him but waved him off anyway. Perhaps it wasn't too bad, not going with Kindaichi today… A part of Kunimi wanted to see how Ushijima would act after last week, if the third year even showed his face on the bus.

And, when the time arrived, Kunimi found himself sitting in his usual spot, bag on lap, earbuds in ears, eyes wandering to the door every time someone boarded the bus. He couldn't remember which stop it was that Ushijima might get on—he hadn't really been paying that much attention—but his curiosity was definitely piqued.

Four stops after Kunimi boarded, the bus pulled over and, lo and behold, a panting, sweaty Ushijima climbed on. He held on to the pole by the door and leaned on it, resting his other hand on his hip and his forehead against the hand that gripped the pole. He wasn't entirely out of breath, but he must've pushed himself.

Kunimi watched him openly and wondered if Ushijima either never payed attention to other people's fascination with him, ignored it, or never realized it. But after several deep breaths, Shiratorizawa's ace lifted his head and locked eyes with Kunimi. Then he looked away.

That little…! There was no way that hadn't been on purpose. Although, Kunimi felt a bit smug. Ushijima had called him cute and had been all but rejected by Kunimi—for once, someone had the upper hand on Ushijima Wakatoshi. It must've been a first for the guy.

Still…several stops came and went, and neither boy made a move to interact with the other. It irked Kunimi. He thought he would've been satisfied to have Ushijima leave him alone, yet…he had to wonder…if _some_ part of him felt…ugh… _guilty_ for reacting to Ushijima as he'd done. The thought didn't sit well with Kunimi, who twisted his lips around as if he were eating something rotten or sour. So he got to his feet and crossed the aisle, dropping into the free seat on the opposite side of the bus. The seat one over from where Ushijima stood. He put his bag on the empty spot between them for good measure, though, before passing Ushijima a tissue. Ushijima pretended and failed horribly to ignore him.

"You're getting sweat everywhere. It's gross," Kunimi stated.

The older boy's shoulders relaxed by a fraction, and he took the tissue and wiped the back of his neck. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Ah? For saying what you did last time?"

"No. Tendou told me I came on too strong." Ushijima wiped his forehead, brushing his fringe to his right and leaving it sticking up in all directions. "But I meant what I said."

A mixture of emotions bubbled within Kunimi: frustration, embarrassment, annoyance, anger, and a touch of excitement. He had to fight down the alien smile that threatened to bloom on his face at Ushijima's honesty. "You have no filter, do you?" he asked, standing as his stop arrived.

Ushijima gave him his characteristic blank stare, as if he truly had no idea what he was talking about.

Kunimi sighed and reached up—but he caught himself before he fixed Ushijima's hair for him. Instead, he passed him another tissue. "FYI, guys don't like being told they're cute."

"All right." Still, Ushijima's eyes asked, "Even if it's true?"

Kunimi sighed again. "…see you around, Ushijima." And he had to duck his head as he disembarked, otherwise his red face would be shown to the world.

Yes. A face turned red just at seeing the delight in those calf-brown eyes at having been called by name.

What was Kunimi getting into?

* * *

"Ah, treat me, too, Kindaichi~" Matsukawa said the subsequent day as Kindaichi and Kunimi made to leave the clubroom. But he was barely half-dressed and so couldn't follow after them.

Hanamaki looked between Matsukawa and the duo. "Treat you to what? Ah, if it's Kunimi, it must be sweets! Buy me some cream puffs!"

Kindaichi sighed. "Senpai…sorry, but another time!" He bowed his head a bit and followed Kunimi downstairs, but he had to catch up with his friend who'd already made it a third of the way across the clearing to the exit. "Kunimi…! Wait up…!"

"If we don't hurry, we'll miss the bus and then the shop will close," Kunimi groused over his shoulder.

Kindaichi caught up to him in a few long strides and bumped his right shoulder against Kunimi's left. "Ahh, sometimes I think all you're interested in is good food and good music, man."

Kunimi gave him an exasperated look as if to say "We weren't baking for the past three hours."

"Okay, volleyball, too." Kindaichi slowed his breath and stuck his hands in his pockets more out of habit and less because he was cold—how could he be, in the middle of summer? "Man, I can't believe the Interhigh is just a couple of weeks away…" Kindaichi ran a hand over his hair, smoothing a few stray strands. "Oikawa-san is already talking about how this is his last chance to defeat Ushiwaka. But Iwaizumi-san told us that the third years might stick around for the Spring High if the Interhigh doesn't go our way."

The third years, sticking around? It seemed to Kunimi as if all any third years did was stick around, judging by Matsukawa always trying to barge in on his and Kindaichi's plans and by Ushijima never leaving Kunimi's radar.

They boarded the bus at the stop up the street from their school, and Kunimi took his regular spot, just with Kindaichi to his right this time. Kindaichi got to talking about something Hanamaki had done to Yahaba when Kunimi had nodded off during practice earlier, and Kunimi listened with feigned interest. He didn't intend to be rude to his friend, but he kept unconsciously looking at the bus door.

At the stop before where they needed to get off for the candy store, Ushijima finally boarded, and he had that same redheaded guy with him Kunimi had seen before. Ushijima made eye contact with Kunimi, and Ushijima's friend glanced Kunimi's way, too, before smirking and clapping Ushijima on the back. But then Ushijima looked to Kunimi's right and narrowed his eyes. Finally, he tore his attention from Kunimi, offering him his back while his friend's face fell, and Ushijima's friend began chattering rapid-fire to the ace.

Ah? What was this? Kunimi peeked at Kindaichi, but Kindaichi was at the part in his story where Hanamaki "accidentally" had pulled Yahaba's shirt up—Kindaichi hadn't looked to see who'd gotten on the bus. So it wasn't as if he'd shot Ushijima any dirty looks. Then…

Oh.

It was so obvious that Kunimi almost laughed out loud—but he didn't, otherwise Kindaichi definitely _would_ think something was wrong with him. But Kunimi really had to try to stifle his laughter.

Ushijima Wakatoshi…jealous. It was hilarious. And cute. And Kunimi enjoyed, perhaps even liked, everything about that scenario.

The laughter died in Kunimi's throat.

Had he really…just now…thought such a thing? That he…actually… _liked Ushijima_? Shit. No. That couldn't be it. Kunimi dismissed the thought as soon as it occurred to him, and he pretended not to notice the few furtive glances Ushijima spared his way when he and Kindaichi left for the candy store. It didn't help any that only _then_ did Kindaichi notice him, but he was too awestruck by one of Japan's top wing spikers to note that Ushijima had devoted any attention to Kunimi. So Kunimi could easily forget that such heinous thoughts had crossed his mind to begin with.

* * *

It took three days for Ushijima to find his words and bother Kunimi again. When he did, he first dropped into one of the seats in the back of the bus, two over from Kunimi, even though Kunimi hadn't barred his access to the one beside him by putting his bag there. Then he gave it a minute before speaking. "You're…not with your friend today."

"No. I'm skipping practice."

Ushijima made a frowny face—again, cute, but _of course_ that wasn't something Kunimi was thinking—and shook his head. "It's a bad idea to skip practice."

"I'm allowed a couple of free passes every month if they want me to stay part of the club."

"Oh."

Yeah, _oh_. Kunimi's eyes sidled over to the older boy. "Kindaichi was just treating me to something. We've not been going home together much lately."

Ushijima stared at his bag quietly.

Since no one was looking, Kunimi allowed his smirk to morph just a smidge into a smile. So. Ushijima was still jealous. "He's my friend," he reminded him.

"That's what Tendou said."

Ah. So the redhead equaled Tendou. "Well, your friend's right." Kunimi leaned his elbow on his bag and cupped his cheek in his palm. "But I think the more interesting observation is that you got jealous."

Ushijima frowned again. "Jealous? I just didn't like seeing you relax around another person."

"That's the textbook definition of jealousy."

"Oh."

Good gods, it was as if half of Ushijima's vocabulary was limited to that single syllable. Kunimi sighed in exasperation, but his sigh bubbled into a chuckle. "You're…a really simple guy, y'know? Amusing. But simple."

Ushijima watched him smother his chuckle, and the ace's frown melted away. "So…that's not a bad thing, right?"

"No." Kunimi's hackles went up, though. Was it just him, or did Ushijima look a little…expectant?

"So you like me."

Kunimi groaned. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. According to Tendou, amusement means like."

"You really rely on Tendou a lot, don't you?"

"I've been told I'm not the best at reading people. So I tell him and Reon everything. I can trust them to help me with anything I miss socially." Ushijima leaned towards Kunimi slightly, and the latter could read the excitement in his eyes. "So you like me," he repeated.

"No one said that," Kunimi spluttered. He hated how his pulse quickened with Ushijima studying him so closely like this.

"Then you dislike me?"

The hint of sadness in his otherwise monotonous tone made Kunimi's heart skip a beat. Shit. _Shit_! He couldn't handle this right now. Kunimi nearly punched the button, multiple times, to get the bus to make a stop. He was still two stops away from his norm, but Kunimi didn't want to stay and listen to Ushijima reason his way through whatever it was that existed between them.

So Kunimi ran. He ran off the bus and ran all the way home and barely stopped to kick off his shoes inside the front door before running upstairs to his room, where he slammed the door shut and dove for his bed. Even with his pillow over his head, he could still hear his mother yelling up at him. "Akira! Don't slam your door! And tell me what you want for supper!"

But Kunimi's stomach was unsettled. He couldn't possibly think about eating…not when he felt as though he'd swallowed ten nets of butterflies.

* * *

The butterflies refused to go away.

Kunimi was acutely aware of this over the next several days, which became weeks, as he entered a kind of cold war with Ushijima on the bus. Since that day when Ushijima had pointed out that Kunimi liked him, Ushijima had not missed a day on the bus once. Granted, as they were right around the corner now from the Interhigh, he was almost always in his purple t-shirt and shorts, but he always had the energy to seek out Kunimi, to lock eyes with him, to offer up his awkward version of a smile, and to remind Kunimi with a single look that he _knew_ Kunimi liked him.

Kunimi, of course, scowled in response every time, a nonverbal "You're WRONG" that was lost on Ushijima. So, with Ushijima showing no signs of giving up his interest in the younger boy, Kunimi…not that he would ever admit to it aloud, even if tortured…began to entertain certain possibilities.

Say, just _say_ , Ushijima was right. Say Kunimi liked Ushijima, too. Then what? Why? Kunimi had eyes—he could see that Ushijima was a handsome fellow. But was he really so shallow as to fall for only a face? He didn't like to think so… But then what? He still didn't know Ushijima very well. He knew Ushijima was an amazing volleyball player—Kunimi played the same position, so it was hard not to admire the guy. And, though Kunimi wished he'd directed his efforts into other ventures, Ushijima's tenacity was something to be admired, too, whether it be in volleyball or…in pursuing the object of his desires. And his simplicity was amusing, his honesty, somewhat endearing. Kunimi still wasn't sure how he felt about being attracted to a guy or having a guy interested in him, but there was something very black-and-white about Ushijima that made gender seem like a trivial part of the equation.

A few days before the Interhigh, Ushijima deemed it safe to approach him. They sat in the back of the bus once more—rather like before, with the middle seat empty between them. He nodded by way of greeting.

Kunimi cupped his cheek in his palm again, turning so he held his mouth instead, feeling the heat of his skin rise as he shot Ushijima a look. Finally, he mumbled, "I can't like you."

Ushijima cocked his head to one side. "I don't understand."

Of course he wouldn't. "I can't like you," Kunimi repeated, but it was more like thinking aloud than really conversing with the other male. "And I especially can't like you during the Interhigh."

Ushijima slowly nodded. "I see…" He paused and rubbed his chin, thinking. "I don't mind either way, though?"

"You don't?" This sounded like a change of heart.

"I like you regardless. You're cute—" He paused again, possibly recalling that Kunimi had told him that guys didn't like to be called that, but he continued when Kunimi didn't rebuke him. "You get frustrated with me, but you're honest about most things. You didn't act differently with your friend than you do with me. You're very upfront with what's on your mind. And I find that interesting." Ushijima shrugged. "I just like you."

If it hadn't been for Ushijima reminding him that Ushijima found him physically attractive, Kunimi would almost believe Ushijima sought friendship rather than anything else. Gods, this guy was so… _frustrating_. Kunimi sighed then. "Well, see if you still like me after Seijou wins the Interhigh," he boldly proclaimed. And, though it was out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Ushijima smile.

* * *

Kunimi, in the end, had to eat his words. He really should've known better than to make a promise he couldn't keep.

Seijou lost rather spectacularly to Shiratorizawa at the Interhigh. Tensions now ran high in Seijou's men's volleyball club, and Kunimi and Kindaichi and the second years were fairly wary of the third years. What Iwaizumi had surmised came true, as well—the third years were sticking around for the Spring High, the stage of their true last hurrah.

The loss smarted for the first week, and then it simmered down to a painful burn that might or might not eventually fade away. Thoughts turned over to that of leaving summer homework to the last minute and to buying up all the ice cream within a five-mile radius in this godforsaken heat. Everyone couldn't wait for summer break to come—if only it would come faster.

Bus rides home were the same as usual, but Kunimi grew more obstinate and pouted more than he had before. He was at his worst the first time he spotted Ushijima after the match and had glared daggers at the other boy. However, his glare had deepened when Ushijima had moved to sit nowhere near him. Though it made no sense whatsoever to Kunimi, he actually found a touch of comfort in having Ushijima sit near him. Not beside him, no, but near him nevertheless.

Ushijima smartly gave him a few days before initiating conversation. "With the Interhigh over," he stated quietly, "…you can like me again."

Kunimi grimaced. Partly at the "again" in Ushijima's sentence, but partly from knowing that Ushijima had a point.

When Kunimi didn't respond, Ushijima nodded to himself and stood. He gave Kunimi space by going to his usual spot by the pole near the right-hand exit. The bus was mostly empty today, so he could talk to Kunimi without raising his voice. "I don't give up on things I believe in, on things that interest me," he pointed out.

Ah. There was that endearing honesty—that charming _boldness_ —again. Kunimi looked up at him.

"But I'm learning from my friends that I need to learn how to have a relationship, so…please take care of me."

Aaand his cuteness was now ruined. Kunimi wanted to scream in frustration and die of embarrassment at Ushijima's frankness. But he could no longer lie to himself about his attraction to Ushijima….

* * *

"Kunimi."

Seijou's spiker lifted his head and took out an earbud. Ushijima hadn't been on the bus the day after that scene, but he was back today, clad in a pale purple shirt and his usual jogging shorts today. He was sweaty again. "Ushijima."

Ushijima didn't even try to hide his pleasure at hearing Kunimi use his name again. Or maybe the guy didn't know how he eyes glimmered like a kid's in a candy store when he was happy.

Kunimi stared openly at him, thinking about what he'd gotten himself into. Then again… Ushijima sweaty and breathing a little harder than usual was fairly distracting and kept derailing Kunimi's train of thought. He got up and walked to the seat by the door, beside where Ushijima stood, and took out a few tissues to pass to the larger boy.

Ushijima nodded his thanks and patted his neck and face dry. His fringe was a mess again.

Kunimi sighed to cover his chuckle. But he swallowed his pride and bit the bullet. "Don't read into this," he mumbled as he reached up to fix Ushijima's hair. He patted most of it down and then let his hand move slower, stroking a few strands.

Ushijima unsurprisingly took Kunimi's hand and lowered it, but he had no ulterior motives. He was plenty happy just holding Kunimi's hand.

And Kunimi? Much to his chagrin, he discovered that he didn't mind at all, and he let Ushijima hold on to him for the rest of the ride, but only for the rest of the ride.

They'd have all of summer break for Kunimi to figure out if he wanted Ushijima to keep hold of him for longer than that.

**Author's Note:**

> SOMEONE SAVE ME. They're too cute. ;w; I… *drowns in Ushikuni* Based loosely on some headcanons by fukunagapls, this fic is just… What is this fic. My gods. Idk what to say other than I love Kunimi being, as fuku says, a "little butt." But also. "STUBBORN KUNIMI AND LOVESTRUCK USHIJIMA." That's tops. Yup. Also, socially inept Ushijima is hilarious to write, and surprisingly writing Kunimi got easier as the story went along. (And were those hints of Hanayaha and Matsukin? No clue, but maybe. XD) But yeah. Pretty sure I'll be writing more of these two dorks in the future. FUCK.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other [HQ!] fics, too, if you enjoyed this!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki :D


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